On September 19th, the third year of Zhangwu, ten days have passed since the Double Ninth Festival. As it gets closer to early winter, the weather is getting colder.
The cold air blowing from the north swept across Henan, filling the earth with a chilling smell.
But even so, many soldiers in the armies of Cao Cao and Sun Ce would secretly collect some dogwood and either insert it on their heads or wear it around their waists.
Cao Cao and Sun Ce did not prohibit it. They both knew that the soldiers were homesick and tired of war.
After all, many of their troops came from Henan. For example, most of Sun Ce's 50,000 to 60,000 troops were from Runan, Liang, Chen, and other places. They were originally Sun Jian's troops and were forced to follow Sun Ce to fight in Jiangdong.
Logically speaking, the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of August is the festival when Chinese people traditionally miss their hometown and look forward to reunion.
However, the Mid-Autumn Festival was not even a festival in the Han Dynasty, and it was not until the Tang Dynasty that it officially became a festival. Therefore, the Double Ninth Festival, where people worship their ancestors and worship the gods, has become a place for people to place their trust in their ancestors.
Although both of them noticed that the soldiers were war-weary, they did not dare to suppress them. Once they suppressed them forcefully, the consequences would be disastrous.
In this case, both of them chose to block the situation rather than disperse it, and simply held some Double Ninth Festival activities among the entire army, and promised the soldiers that if they could win this battle, they would be given a holiday to return to their hometowns.
So after Sun Cao discussed it, the two held a Double Ninth Festival sacrifice in Qi County. On the mountain in the western suburbs of Qi County, they climbed high and opened an altar to pray to God and worship their ancestors.
certainly.
They certainly didn't ask their ancestors for their opinions when they offered sacrifices to their ancestors.
Not to mention that Sun Jian was a guard of the imperial court and firmly opposed Sun Ce's rebellion, but that the seventy-year-old Cao Song still lived in Qingzhou.
He was obese and sickly. Since Qingzhou's medical science was relatively advanced, he had to live in Linzi to recuperate.
Cao Cao's sudden rebellion obviously put Cao Song into a very embarrassing situation. Fortunately, Liu Bei did not harm him, otherwise Cao Cao would have been labeled as unfilial from a moral perspective.
Sun Cao was there to worship his ancestors, and I don’t know what their ancestors thought. Anyway, Cao Song and Sun Jian definitely wanted to give Cao Cao and Sun Ce a big blow. And by the way, I asked them whether they took their father into their hearts.
In the western suburbs of Zhi County, Sun Cao and Zhang Yun, who came to join in the numbers, performed various unethical acts such as offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, ancestors, and various gods, etc., before the alliance was officially opened.
The three of them each spread a mat on the top of the mountain, surrounded by soldiers. The sacrificial altar was nearby, and a table, fruits, and wine were placed on it.
Sun Ce raised his glass, drinking the high-strength soju invented by Chen Mu, and said to Cao Cao and Zhang Yun: "Uncle, General Zhang, the imperial court is coming menacingly and is aggressive towards us. Today's alliance is to work together to resist the imperial court.
attack."
Zhang Yun said hurriedly: "Yes, my uncle said that Liu Bei was born as a bandit, but in the end he forced the late emperor to get the throne. This was an unfair access to the throne. We are all princes conferred by the late emperor to replace the emperor Makino Bafang. We also served for him back then.
The late Emperor served. But after Liu Bei came to power, he wanted to destroy us. This is morally unacceptable, so we must resist the tyranny and return power to Emperor Zhang's heirs."
"Exactly, what does uncle think?"
Sun Ce looked at Cao Cao.
There was always an excuse to raise an army to rebel against the imperial court. Their excuse was that Liu Bei's position was unfair and was obtained by coercing Liu Yu.
Putting aside the fact that the Manchu ministers had no objections, and putting aside the edict issued by Liu Yu himself, you Liu Bei are not worthy of sitting in the position of emperor anyway. How can you, a descendant of the former Han royal family, be the emperor of Guangwu?
The throne?
So it's very easy to just come up with an excuse.
However, Cao Cao understood that Sun Ce probably wanted Xiang Zhuang to dance with Pei Gong. He made concerted efforts to fight against the imperial court. He clearly wanted to confirm his main leadership position. He sneered in his heart, but said: "This is exactly why I raised the army.
The reason is that the late emperor clearly said that he would choose Emperor Zhang's son to inherit the throne, but in the end, Liu Bei came to the throne. This jackal and Han thief will be abandoned by humans and gods, and will be killed by heaven and earth!"
Sun Ce was overjoyed and raised his wine glass and said, "My uncle is right. Today we will make an alliance with our blood and fight to the death with the imperial court. Come and drink from this cup!"
After that, he drank the wine in one gulp.
Naturally, Cao Cao and Zhang Yun drank together, but Cao Cao only tasted it briefly, slowly putting down his glass and squinting his eyes slightly. After finishing the drink, Zhang Yun burst into laughter and said loudly that it was a good drink.
After both of them drank, Sun Ce said again: "But as the old saying goes, a snake cannot survive without a head. Although we are allies today, our command and dispatch cannot be unified. How to fight, where to fight, there should always be someone
When the regulations come out, I wonder what my uncle and General Zhang think?"
I saw the picture.
Cao Cao sneered in his heart, but his face remained calm.
Zhang Yun was stunned for a moment and said: "General Sun, what you mean is that we still have to choose a leader?"
Sun Ce nodded and said: "This is natural. Although the imperial court is an unjust army, there are millions of brutal people. If you can't seriously confront the enemy, how can you win? Do you two want to fight alone and be chased by the imperial court?
Are you going to defeat it and just sit back and watch your own country perish?"
Zhang Yun hesitated for a moment and said nothing, but his eyes were on Cao Cao.
No matter how stupid Zhang Yun was, he still understood what Sun Ce meant.
Strictly speaking, although Liu Biao was worried that after Cao Cao's demise, it would be his turn next.
But after all, the knife has not yet fallen on my head, my heart will not die until I see the Yellow River, and I will not shed tears until I see the coffin.
There was no sense of urgency for the imperial army to suppress the situation, so the pressure on Liu Biao was not particularly great.
Sun Ce is the same way.
The most urgent person now is definitely Cao Cao.
If Cao Cao agrees, Zhang Yun will be fine.
After all, he is the leader of the alliance, and even he himself doesn't believe it, so it depends on what Cao Cao thinks.
Cao Cao seemed to be able to keep his composure and never spoke.
Seeing the silence on the battlefield, Sun Ce frowned and said dissatisfiedly: "Uncle, General Zhang, are you unwilling to coordinate the command and control? In this case, it would be better if we each withdraw our troops and go back, so as not to be eliminated one by one by the imperial court."
This sentence immediately hit Cao Cao's pain point. Liu Biao and Sun Ce were not in a hurry. One occupied Jingzhou and the other occupied Jiangdong, both in the rear.
Cao Cao was the first to bear the brunt. The knife was already placed on his neck, and he had no way to retreat.
In desperation, Cao Cao could only say: "What Bo Fu said is indeed reasonable. Unified command and dispatch is definitely necessary, but how to dispatch it must be made clear. It cannot be said that the leader of the alliance ordered us to die.
I have to go too.”
The implication is that there can be an alliance leader, but the power of the alliance leader is not unlimited. Otherwise, it would definitely be unacceptable to Cao Cao to use his power to consume other people's troops and let others die.
So on the way here, Cao Cao had already thought that due to the situation, he could accept Sun Ce as the leader of the alliance, but there must be some conditions.
For example, he is short of food and grass now. He lost a lot of baggage in the battle of Guandu. Later, the court pursued him urgently and lost a lot of supplies along the way. Now there is a shortage of clothes in autumn and winter. As the leader of the alliance, he should allocate some food and grass.
Give him the supplies.
Also, although the alliance leader has the power of dispatch, it cannot be said that he will die just because he wants to. He needs to make an agreement in three chapters. At least discuss the order you issued with everyone. If everyone thinks it is okay, then execute it.
In summary, Sun Ce can take on the title of alliance leader. But you have to transfer supplies to Cao Cao, and you can't just follow orders. We still have to discuss the specific tactics.
Sun Ce thought for a while and realized that what Cao Cao said was quite reasonable, so he said, "What about what uncle wants?"
Cao Cao said: "Everyone discusses it together and everyone agrees, then that's it."
"Then isn't this alliance leader in name only?"
Sun Ce was dissatisfied.
Zhou Yu on the side suddenly said: "Well, Ming Gong, Cao Shijun's words are actually very fair. Although there are alliance leaders, specific major matters must naturally be discussed together. However, the army has more than ten thousand people. I thought that the food and grass rationing would not be enough.
It still has to be arranged by the alliance leader, what do you think?"
Cao Cao's face changed slightly, and then he immediately said: "That's true, but I was very embarrassed after being chased all the way by Liu Bei. There is not much food and grass in the army, so I still hope to be given more food and grass rations. If so, I would like to serve as Bo Fu.
Leader."
"Cao Shijun, my lord's expedition to Jiangdong has not been completely pacified yet, and there is not much food and grass."
Zhou Yu immediately said: "I'm afraid it's difficult to agree to this request."
Cao Cao then said: "Since we can't provide food and grass, we must give some weapons and armor. These days, I have been responsible for Liu Bei's attack alone. After successive wars, I have lost the entire Yanzhou, and I have less than two counties under my control. The soldiers are
The horses lack food, armor, bows and arrows, and if Ruo Bo Fu ignores me because he wants me to die, then I might as well surrender to Liu Bei."
Zhou Yu's expression also changed slightly. After thinking for a while, he said: "The grain, grass, and baggage should be distributed to the envoy, but the specific amount should be discussed at that time."
"OK."
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Cao Cao didn't want to argue anymore. He handed over his hand and said, "I am willing to accept Bo Fu as the leader of the alliance."
"I am also willing to accept General Sun as the leader of the alliance."
Seeing that Cao Cao had already agreed, Zhang Yun had nothing to say, so he also agreed.
In just a few words, Cao Cao and Zhou Yu had already fought for several rounds.
Both sides were fighting for their own interests, but because Liu Bei was pressing hard, they did not go further. Instead, they chose to take a step back and each could get some of the benefits.
Cao Cao got some supplies, and Sun Ce got the title of leader of the alliance and the power to hold grain and grass. Both of them got benefits, but Zhang Yun was the only one who became a cow.
After confirming the name, Sun Ce said: "Now that the alliance leader has been selected, let's talk about how to fight the decisive battle with the imperial court."
Cao Cao asked: "How does the alliance leader think we should fight?"
Sun Ce hesitated and said: "I originally thought that my uncle would join forces with General Zhang to resist the imperial attack in Xiang County. I would cross the river first, attack Shiqiu with my main force, repel Chen Mu, and then transfer to Xiang County to assist you two.
.But I am worried about whether you can withstand the imperial troops."
Cao Cao and Guo Jia next to him looked at each other, and they both knew that Sun Ce was looking at one of them as a defeated general, and the other as a second-rate army in Jingzhou, with a combined force of 70,000 or 80,000, but facing the main force of the imperial court, he was afraid that the imperial court would kill them all.
This worry is not unfounded, but a fact. Cao Cao himself also knew very well that the morale of his army was now low, and it would not be easy to regain his strength and fight the imperial court to the death.
But being looked down upon by Sun Ce still made him very unhappy, and he said: "Leader, please rest assured, if I had stuck to the camp and never left, I wouldn't have been defeated so quickly."
Cao Cao admitted that he couldn't defeat Liu Bei, but it didn't mean that he couldn't hold it. When he was in Guandu, his food and grass were burned, and the morale of the army was unstable, so he was forced to move. Otherwise, even if Liu Bei had piled dozens of mountains of earth outside to attack him.
Didn’t you just barely hold on to the archery in the camp?
"But this creates another problem."
Zhou Yu said: "Liu Bei's troops and horses are strong, Cao Shijun has been defeated, and General Zhang's troops are good at naval warfare but not good at land warfare. If Liu Bei sends supporting troops at the critical moment when my Ming Dynasty attacks Chen Mu, the king will be defeated."
General Zhang, can you intercept it?"
"this......"
Cao Cao was hesitant and reluctant to let him defend the camp. It was difficult for him to intercept Liu Bei's reinforcements.
There was silence for a while.
Guo Jia shook his head and said: "Then we can't let General Sun come here to fight against the main force of the imperial court. My Ming Gong can go fight against Chen Zigui. Although this sentence hurts morale, if it were before Guandu, my Ming Gong would not be afraid, but Ming Gong was just a mere
Tens of thousands of troops have been fighting against Liu Bei's 200,000 troops for several months. They fought bloody battles and suffered heavy losses. They are really beyond their capabilities."
Zhang Yun scratched his head and asked: "If that's the case, then why don't we unite our troops and horses, ignore that Chen Mu, and just attack Liu Bei together and eliminate him?"
When he said this, everyone looked at him like an idiot.
They are advancing in two directions, Liu Bei's main force is 80,000 men, and all their troops and horses combined with an army of 120,000 men may not be able to defeat Liu Bei's 80,000 men head-on.
If you leave Chen Mu's 30,000 people alone, not to mention whether you can win the battle, then the main force will fight head-on and outflank you. When you are fighting in full force from the front, and 30,000 people suddenly attack your flanks, what will you do then?
?
Therefore, the correct approach should be the main force against the main force, and the partial division against the partial division. No matter which side wins or loses, it can affect the entire battle situation.
Otherwise, no matter whether they divide their troops or attack together, they will be easily defeated by Liu Bei in the end.
There is no way, it seems that there is not much difference in the number of the two sides, but the morale of the soldiers, food and grass, weapons and equipment, fighting will and other factors are all very different. Their hard power is crushed, and I really can't think of any good way to deal with it.
Unless you become a bandit.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng's bandits were just running around, and Chongzhen had no money on hand, so Li Zicheng slowly made them bigger.
It's different now. The imperial court holds so many overseas mines.
All the Japanese natives were sent to work in the mines, and the gold, silver, and copper mines were shipped to Qingzhou one by one. Liu Bei's money was slowly wasted on them.
Be a bandit?
Not to mention that the soldiers under your command who miss their hometown may not necessarily follow you. Even if they do, can they afford to support so many people and cost more than the wealthy Liu Bei?
So this is a dead end.
After being silent for a long time, Cao Cao gritted his teeth and said, "If the leader of the alliance gives me a lot of armor and arrows, I can fight to the death."
This means fighting hard.
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu looked at each other, nodded slowly and said, "Then let's do it."